Pages

Monday, October 13, 2014

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual
Book Tour, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Among the Giants
by Jesse LeBeau. Please leave a comment or question for Jesse
to let him know you stopped by. You can
enter Jesse’s giveaway, for a signed
Deuce Brand watch, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. You must comment in order to enter the
giveaway. You can follow the rest of the
stops for Jesse’s tour by clicking on the banner above.

My Biggest Inspiration
- Yesterday and Today by Jesse LeBeau

I've always
loved a good challenge. From my earliest
memories I've always been an underdog.

I grew up on
a little island in Alaska. The island’s
name was Pennock, and on Pennock there were no roads, no stores, and no
cars. It was just my house and the woods
filled with wild animals.

Every day to
get to school I had to take a little boat across the bay to "The Big
City". The Big City consisted of
one road going left, one road going right, a fence at either end so you were
trapped. There was 4 stop lights and Walmart. Yes, Walmart is everywhere.

Growing up
it was dark almost all the time and it rained a lot. By a lot I mean 13 feet which is 2 out of
every 3 days. Because of this, there
wasn't a lot to do, many people struggled with addiction to drugs, alcohol, and
depression. Not too many people went on
to leave our little island and there wasn't a lot of opportunity.

Like a lot
of kids, I had a big dream. My dream was
to be a basketball player when I grew up.
I wanted to get a college scholarship and eventually get paid to play
basketball. There was only one problem,
I was born with the body type of a hobbit!

My nicknames
growing up were Baby J and Jimmy Newtron.
Not the most intimidating nicknames. I was pretty much (and I still am)
not what a basketball player was supposed to look like. I literally could have chosen any other sport
and probably have been better off: golf, tennis…maybe Candy Crush?

The day I
chose to be a basketball player was the day I became an underdog and I've been
one ever since. Every time I stepped
onto the court I was surrounded by bigger and stronger players. Life became a constant cycle of being
overlooked and underestimated. People
would tell me I was too small, I wasn't strong enough, I couldn't play with
them, and that I would never be good enough to be successful, I just didn't
have what it takes. Every year, I was
the shortest kid in my class and people would make fun of me non-stop for it.

I remember
when I was in 7th grade, one day at lunch we were playing basketball. A rebound came down and I jumped to get the
ball but what I didn't see was another kid who went by 'Stormin' Norman' behind
me. Stormin' Norman was a huge kid,
basically a man. He was 'experienced'
8th grader if you know what I'm saying.
This wasn't his first time around the block. He was 6'3", 205 pounds, had a mustache
AND a wife and kid at home.

Needless to
say, he wasn't your average 8th grader.
Without jumping he just snatched the ball away from me and mean mugged
me. I looked back startled because I
hadn't seen him and that's when he said something that would affect me for
years. This was in the 7th grade and I
can see it happening in my head as clear as if it was yesterday. I looked up at him. He looked down at me and laughed, and he
said, "What are you going to be when you grow up? A pony rider?"

It took me a
few seconds to understand what he meant, and then it hit me. According to Stormin' Norman, I wasn't even
going to be big enough to a horse jockey, I was so small that I would ride
ponies for a living. A pretty mean thing
to say, especially to the shortest kid in junior high. At that moment, I felt embarrassed. I felt angry.
And more than anything, I just wanted to disappear.

It was
moments like these that inspired me to be who I am today. They forced me to set goals, take action and
be committed. Every time someone told me
I couldn't do something I chose to get better instead of bitter and work that
much harder to prove them wrong. My life
has been a constant cycle of having to prove myself and these challenges and
negative people have forced me to grow and be better. Later in life I was told things like: I
couldn't get a college scholarship, I would never get a certain job, I couldn't
make it in Hollywood, or I'd never have my own TV show. I am so thankful people told me these things
because I've had a blast getting to prove them wrong.

Being told I
can't do something has always been my biggest inspiration, yesterday and today.

The sound of the basketball
slapping the floor echoed hollowly in the gym, as I began working it playfully
with my hands. Planning my next move, I locked eyes with my opponent. I noticed
small beads of sweat beginning to form in the furrow between his eyebrows. My
heart was pounding, and my nerves tightened in response . . . but slowly a
smile formed on my lips. Here I was, 5’8” Jesse LeBeau, going one on one with
basketball superstar Kevin Durant . . . and I was making him sweat! As I
started to make my move on him, I briefly wondered, "How did a skinny kid
from a small town in Alaska ever get the chance to do this?" Here I was,
involved in the filming of the 2012 Warner Brother's basketball movie
Thunderstruck, playing against the NBA scoring champion! It shouldn't have
happened. I didn't fit the profile and anyone would have told you that. But I
did make it, despite the odds. And here is my story . . .

Growing up as an undersized
white basketball player on a remote island in Alaska, Jesse had nearly every
chip stacked against him. Yet despite his size and circumstances, he managed to
rise above it all and make it to the big screen in Hollywood. With only the
love of the game of basketball and the tenacity to follow a dream driving him,
Jesse’s persistence has led him to star in national commercials and movies with
some of the most recognizable celebrities and professional athletes in the
world. More importantly, he found a way to tweak the system and alter his dream
and get paid to do what he loves to . . . every day! Be inspired by his story
and learn the keys to successfully creating a life that is uniquely yours.

You probably aren’t going to
like this, and maybe you won’t even agree with me, but i’m here to tell you
this today: if you aren’t happy with your life, it’s your own fault. we all
possess the ability to create the life we want. Stop feeling sorry for
yourself, and make your life what you want it to be. Stop blaming other people.
Stop making excuses. imagine if you took that wasted time and energy and used
it to change your circumstances and fix the things you don’t like. what kind of
life would you have then? i’d be willing to bet it would be a lot better. The
highest achievers don’t blame others and make excuses. They don’t expect
someone else to make them happy, and they don’t have a sense of entitlement and
expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. They make it
happen. They start taking different action steps to get different results. This
attitude is what makes all the difference between those who are great and live
happy lives and those who don’t.

There is only one person who
is responsible for the quality of your life, and you guessed it: that person is
you. everything that is happening in your life is the result of your previous
actions or lack thereof. That makes you the grand master in charge of the
current state of your life. our human nature conditions us to blame external
factors that are out of our control to give us a scapegoat. But the truth of
the matter is, it all comes back to how we choose to respond to each event that
determines our outcome. like i mentioned before, we can’t always control the
things that happen to us; the only thing we have the power to control is our
attitude and how we choose to respond. The choice is yours. Take charge of your
life. Think better thoughts. Visualize more positive outcomes. Take the action
necessary to get what you want. This will determine everything for you and your
life. Stop wasting your time being unhappy. choose wisely, and take 100 percent
ownership for your life.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Over the course of the last
couple years, Jesse has propelled himself from a small, alaskan fishing town to
the Hollywood big screen, being seen by millions all over the world. By
leveraging his love of the game of basketball and making the most of every
opportunity, he has suc- cessful created a life all his own. at 5’8”, he may
not be an nBa player, but by tweaking his dream, he has been able to use his
passion (basketball) to star in national commercials and movies, work with pro
athletes and celebrities, and even give back on a regular basis as a
motivational speaker for youth. His un- derdog story, outlined in his book,
Among the Giants, serves as an inspiration to anyone who has ever been told
they can’t make their dream a reality.

Jesse was born and raised on
Pennock island, alaska, where his mother worked as a school teacher and his
father was involved in the logging industry. Jesse played basketball growing
up, but no one wanted to take him seriously, and coaches told him he was too
small and would never make it. despite his critics, he believed not only in
himself but also in the plan God had for him. Jesse has experienced big wins
and frustrating losses, but both triumph and defeat helped him grow as a leader
and a person, and helped deepen his faith.

Today, he uses his message to
motivate and inspire young people around the world as a speaker and author.
combining his love of basketball, speaking, and entertaining, Jesse founded the
fab4 Takeover, which brings celebrities into schools to teach and impact
students. He also released an instructional dribbling dVd titled Dribble Like a
Star. for a free download from the dVd visit www.JesseleBeau.com or text the
word ‘dVd ‘to the number 58885. you can find more information, read news in the
press, watch highlight video foot- age, and follow Jesse on a more personal
level at the following websites:

About Me

Welcome to the Queen of All She Reads Blog. I review all genre of books. Whatever catches my fancy. I either purchase the books or receive the books through a book tour, NetGalley, or the publisher. I do not get paid to review any book.
If you wish to submit your book for review, please see my review policy.
Thank you

Check Out My Stops

Stop Book Piracy In All Forms

Both EBook and Print

Check Out My Stops

Copyright

Reviews, posts and special features are the property of Queen of All She Reads unless otherwise noted. Please don't use them or claim them as your own. The graphics on my site are also the property of Queen of All She Reads, unless provided by a publisher or promotional company for use during a feature.Graphics appearing on the site have been paid for and/or are used with expressed permission from the owner. I do not hold any copyright to any images unless otherwise noted. Please contact me directly if you have any questions about any of the pictures/graphics used on this site.